Revolution #66, October 22, 2006
Announcement to our readers:
A set of seven important talks by Bob Avakian, Chairman of the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA, is available for audio download at bobavakian.net and revcom.us. Twenty-two questions and answers, and concluding remarks, are also available for download. The questions and answers include this question, with an answer by Bob Avakian:
“My question deals with some of the material from the two series: ‘Views on Socialism and Communism’ and ‘The Basis, the Goals, and the Methods of the Communist Revolution.’
“I’ve been thinking about two things: One is a statement by Arundhati Roy in an interview where she basically said (this is paraphrasing), ‘I support the Maoists in India even though I would probably be the first person they would kill.’ Second I’ve also been thinking about this in relation to the need to make a distinction as you’ve emphasized between those who are actively plotting to overthrow the socialist state and those who are just dissenting or even vehemently opposed to it, but not actively plotting to overthrow it.
“My question is—taking into account the socialist experience and the very secondary aspect where Arundhati Roy might have a point based on what happened in China and also taking into account the particularity of India and the particularities of this country: what should communists say to the Arundhati Roys of the world in relation to this contradiction and why should they believe us?”
The next issue of Revolution will run a transcript of the answer given by Bob Avakian to that question.
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